The pastor arrived for the 7 am Men's Breakfast Bible study a few minutes late. The guys gathered around the table at the local Denny's Restaurant sipped their coffee and carried on their conversation while only briefly acknowledging their pastor. But one fellow looked the pastor over carefully. He noticed the bags under the pastor's eyes and the look of exhaustion on his face. He asked, "Hey, are you alright?" The pastor shook his head and said, "We'll talk later."
After the Bible study broke up, the pastor and fellow found a corner booth. The pastor said, "I shouldn't be talking to you but since you asked..." For the next half hour the pastor explained that he hadn't slept more than a couple of hours each night. Some concerns for the flock he was shepherding was causing sleepless nights. Finances were not covering the budget. Petty disputes threatened to tear the church council apart. The "grapevine" was filled with gossip and half-truths. The pastor was doing his best to apply God's Word and instruction to each situation. But disobedient church members weren't showing much growth in the way of repentance and faith in God their Savior.
We don't know whether the church at Corinth was causing sleepless nights for the apostle Paul. But we do know that many in the church were immature in the faith and said and did many nonspiritual things. Because of Paul's concern for this particular park of God's flock, chapters seven through twelve of 1st Corinthians contain needed instruction and guidance. Paul writes pointedly; his desire is to bring about repentance and faith among the disobedient in Corinth.
Read these chapters this week. Note that Paul addresses issues which seem to stand front and center in the church today. Watch how Paul continually points to God's grace in Christ as the motivation for setting aside our own wisdom and desires and, instead, seeking to live each day as God's forgiven people, dearly loved in the Lord.
